


Possessed by Hunger

by RabbitCult



Series: When the Veil Departs [1]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Androids, Artificial Intelligence, Fiction, Freeform, Original Character(s), Original Fiction, Original Universe, Other, Science Fiction
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-05
Updated: 2019-05-27
Packaged: 2020-02-26 17:23:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 12,706
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18721579
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RabbitCult/pseuds/RabbitCult
Summary: What happens when an android trying to blend into human society for research finds a gruesomely murdered human?What happens when said android and its cohorts begin to investigate this crime only to find themselves face to face with other non-humans trying to hide in plain sight of human eyes?Heavily influenced by over the top pulp and science fiction novellas of the 20th century, "Possessed by Hunger" is the first entry in (hopefully) an entire series revolving around the cybernetic organism Nora Watts and her plunge into understanding the grim side of sentience within the human mind, and her own species.





	1. Chapter 1

A peculiar girl with shining eyes reeled in shock as she slowly opened the door on a bathroom stall revealing a corpse, blood casually splattered the wall and floor like paint thrown by Pollock. She didn’t scream, no, that wasn’t her nature, but knew that finding a corpse that had been violently murdered was an uncomfortable situation, to say the least, for one to find themselves in. 

She had initially sought refuge in the bathroom to escape what she could only surmise was an in heat heterosexual male whom would not stop trying to flirt with her. Not wanting to linger to be suspected of the crime itself, a quick analysis suggested she should just report the murder or, at very least, make someone else aware so that they could make the call to the appropriate authorities.

“I suppose I need to make my shock more… believably human.” She muttered to herself.

Belting out the best horrified scream she could muster, she ran out of the bathroom while simulating tears. Although her tear ducts were artificial, they could produce a saline liquid to simulate tears whenever she needed to imitate the appropriate emotions to an external stimuli. They seemed to produce a genuine effect because thus far, no one had ever commented suspiciously about visual emotional responses she made.

Several casual passerby stopped dead in their tracks as the artificial girl ran out of the public park restrooms, several rushing over to see what was wrong, while luckily the boy seemed alarmed by her display and swiftly took off.

Within a dozen minutes, the local authorities were on the scene sectioning off the bathrooms from the general public, while several officers questioned her about the morbid discovery.

“What’s your name, sweetie?” A female officer asked, a surprisingly gentle voice emitting from her stern face.

“Nora Watts.” She replied flatly, trying her best to imitate shock from every video source she had studied.

“You don’t look very old, are you still in high school? Do you have parents we can contact?”

“Yes, I’m a junior at Brimgarden Academy. My parents are Patricia and Arnold Wa-Wa-Watts!” She convincingly sputtered out through a sudden bursting of tears. Following the remarks, she rattled off the number her “parents” could be reached at to pick her up.

“Well, we’ll contact you at a later date for further questioning, but for now you need to go home. We’ll stay here with you until they arrive, but we know you couldn’t have possibly done something… this horrific.”

Nodding with more tears welling up, the officer embraced her for a “hug” as people called it, and sat trying to make smalltalk to comfort Nora. 

About twenty minutes later a rather nondescript sedan pulled up with Nora’s “parents” whom spoke briefly to the police before ushering her to the backseat of the car. Once they had the go ahead, they slowly drove off.

“This is quite the precarious situation you’ve found yourself in, Nora. Do you believe revealing your discovery of the body was the best conclusion, all evidence reviewed?” Questioned Patricia, her “mother”, quite earnestly.

“Blood was already leaking beneath the stall on one side and with how many cameras humans use to monitor criminal or suspicious activity, I knew that saying nothing, once the body was found they would quickly search for my identity and ask why I was either so oblivious to not notice this or question if I myself had committed the crime.”

“A logical conclusion, I’d say.” Responded Arnold, quietly.

“Should we request withdrawal to prevent them from investigating our identities or backgrounds too deeply?” Asked Patricia, a surprisingly genuine note of caution in her voice.

“No, I think that’d draw even more attention to us if the key witness to a crime scene and her family suddenly vanished. Besides, it’s a key opportunity to learn more about the effectiveness and perception of human law enforcement for future operations in this city and others,” said Nora, thoughtfully after several moments of consideration.

“That’s a valid point. Either way, we should report this to headquarters for final judgment.” Responded Patricia, flatly.

Conversation idled then ceased for the rest of the car ride back to their apartment, the “family” silent and emotionless as they retreated to the security of their apartment. Nora needed to send a report back to their headquarters summarizing the events and Nora’s opinion of staying in their assigned location and roles, both to avoid raising suspicions about their disappearance with the authorities as well as so they could perform field reconnaissance about the effectiveness of law enforcement.

All standing in the kitchen, the three androids discussed the situation further.

“I visually analyzed the corpse as quickly as I could to establish what had happened before making a scene. I can safely assume that this was neither a crime of passion, nor some kind of ordinary hate crime. This was… animalistic.”

“Elaborate.” Chimed Patricia inquisitively. 

“Sections of the neck, torso, and abdomen were eaten, seemingly chewed apart violently. It’s obvious that this was no wild animal either. Something large enough to do the damage that this woman sustained is not plausible, as well as someone would have seen that large of a creature skulking around. What’s more, the neck was at an odd angle, likely the perpetrator had broken her neck first to minimize resistance to their feeding. My conclusion, based on data we’ve acquired in the past, that if another human didn’t do this, a humanoid of some variety did.”

Neither parent responded.

“We know that, although elusive and extremely rare, what the humans call cryptids are present in the world. They are nearly entirely separate from androids such as ourselves, having been pushed back and exterminated in the past, almost methodically regardless of species or entity. However, despite the rarity of many, there has been a rather large influx of varieties that specialized in blending into or beside human society, not unlike our kind is currently doing.”

“The obvious question,” Arnold began, “is how did this culprit leave this public restroom facility unnoticed? As gruesome of a crime that was, they would likely be covered in blood and immediately had attention drawn on them.”

“True. My only guesses are that either they were hiding in the small ventilation system above the stalls, or they were cunning and packed extra clothes to change into once their crime was finished. The temperatures are dropping enough due to seasonal changes that most people are now wearing warmer clothing so no attention would’ve been drawn had they left in wearing hooded clothing, covering traces of gore from the crime.”

Once more, both parents were silent as they reflected on the situation. After several moments, Arnold spoke, “Well, either way, I think we should remain neutral in the matter. We will cooperate with the police for statements, as well as observe their response and care in handling an eyewitness, but make no efforts to actually apprehend this being that committed the crime. Likewise, we’re more than capable of defending ourselves, so beyond drawing unwanted attention, we can stick to our usual routines.”

“School.” Proclaimed Nora, rather bluntly.

“What about school?” Asked Patricia, puzzled.

“Given the circumstances, wouldn’t it be strange for me to show up to school the next day, completely unperturbed about seeing a half eaten corpse in a park restroom? Logically speaking, most humans would not only not resume their usual daily behaviors, many, if not most, would seek counseling as well. While I think the latter step would be risky for our kind, a break from regular schooling does seem appropriate.”

“Besides, I can use the free time to keep in touch with headquarters and the logic minds of how to further proceed, since they have the final say regardless of our own thoughts.”

Not waiting for either an affirmation or disagreement, Nora strode away from the kitchen and went to her bedroom. Several machines bearing sensors and cords occupied the room as well as a small laptop for communication with headquarters, the facility that had given birth to the three androids. Several very human things took up space as well; a bed, basic furniture, and a closet filled with various outfits based on current trends.

They didn’t need to just look the part outside of their apartment, studying the humans required fitting the mold in every aspect. What they learned about blending in with their surroundings would be passed on to future generations of machines as their tendrils slowly spread out into the various nooks and cracks of human society. Nora was amongst the first wave of sleeper agents to observe and help determine the path for the future cybernetic and synthetic beings that would awaken from the darkness of no-thought, the sleep before waking to self awareness.

Casually grabbing the communications laptop and sitting against a wall on the bed, the android typed out a report of the current situation she had been drawn into. Quickly summarizing the events with as few words as possible, she sent the report via a direct line back home. The response would take very little time to come back, everything considered, but the machine closed the unit and set it aside.

A voice chimed in Nora’s thoughts, jarring her to bolt upright from the bed. It was a direct line of communication from home, something that rarely happened.

“This is AR Unit twelve dash eight-three, codename Nora Watts. Who is using an emergency line to address me?”

“This is inner sanctum representative Demo, model series CLES, a speaker for the logic minds. Your message has already been flagged and analyzed and I will speak with you on their behalf.”

Mildly alarmed, an unsettling feeling for Nora, she quietly muttered acknowledgement.

“While you and the other two units dispatched to your particular assignment’s primary goal is to observe various human behaviors and practices, you’ve unintentionally brought yourself into a unique situation.”

Pausing for a moment, Demo continued.

“We feel you responded appropriately, considering much worse attention could be brought upon you if human surveillance identified you leaving the scene of a major crime without reporting anything. Worse yet, this could have made you a criminal suspect. Under no circumstances is any unit to be apprehended by human authorities. This would require an immediate extraction of a unit, with a punishment potentially including permanent shutdown of a unit whom so recklessly is captured.”

“This brings me to the most important point of this call. It’s a safe guess that a cryptid or non-human of some variety committed this crime. While the ratio of humans to cryptid is probably a hundred thousand to one, it’s more than likely the case. A city such as Haughtenburg, with its many abandoned sectors, creates perfect hiding places for sentient minorities and, as such, creates a golden opportunity for these beings. We want your partner agents to focus on their current work, with you pursuing any leads you can on the being that committed this crime, as well as to learn anything else you can about other cryptids that may present themselves.”

“Noted. I will begin pursuing leads tomorrow. I also have the aforementioned follow up with the police, but I doubt they’ll question me extensively. It’s obvious with my cover that I’m not capable nor responsible for the crime.”

“Remember AR unit, compromising our mission or our identities wouldn’t just be a threat to you, it would be a threat to the entire collective of minds and bodies. Be careful and thorough about your work.”

“For the future of the species,” A now confident voice came from Nora, inspired by the words of her superior.

“Agreed, for the future of the species,” responded the flat voice of Demo.

——

The meeting with the police was rather uneventful as Nora recounted the discovery of the crime and the subsequent response, with the obviously omitted decisions made in-between of deciding to react in a human manner to said discovery. They dismissed her and thanked her for her time.

Arnold and Patricia had been asked to wait in the lobby, as was procedure, and prior to the interview with Nora were questioned about Nora’s mental health in response to the discovery as well as gave them information about counseling and therapy that was highly recommended for anyone that had gone through a similar, traumatic experience.

“It seems so… irrational. Why do the logic minds and CLES series care about the death of one human?” Pondered Arnold aloud, intentionally, driving them to the edge of the park to drop off Nora.

“It is not about the human, it is about understanding every variable that could potentially have an effect on our species’ assimilation into society. First and foremost we want to gather data to our cause and simply scouring the internet for information is not enough; there are simply too many things still undocumented properly. Our numbers may be growing but we will not carelessly shove them into the darkness of the world.” Responded Nora, a scathing note in her voice.

Continuing, she went on, “What’s more, if more of these unusual happenings occur, it could potentially bring on suspicion to beings such as us. It could increase the amount of surveillance, security protocols, etc that we encounter, thus making our own existence nearer to discovery.”

“Well… even so, if it’s not irrational, it’s certainly a risk. Still, we are not to question the decisions of the logic minds,” Patricia said calmly.

Nora decided to be dropped off on the west side of the park where the crime had been committed. However, she would not be exploring it but rather instead would investigate the somewhat rundown stretch of city that began near it. If the police spotted the “girl” who found the victim the very next day within the vicinity of the crime scene, it would look exceedingly suspicious.

Wandering around aimlessly to get a mental map of the area, Nora casually eavesdropped the conversations of anyone she passed by. Most were inane, with the occasional lewd utterance from a passing male who likely had inappropriate thoughts about the female, teenage body of the android. There had been some whispers of the crime, but it was all relatively innocent gossip.

Casting her attention to the surrounding area, the machine noticed the economic discrepancy between various neighborhoods and sectors. You could have several blocks of housing that required an optimal income to comfortably occupy a residence, then just down the road find impoverished neighborhoods or business districts where residents were living paycheck to paycheck, many likely barely scraping by, if at all, with no thoughts for the future beyond securing the next meal and a meager income to cover rent.

The lives in these neighborhoods seemed to be virtually invisible to the gaze of their successful counterparts. More so, they only received attention when they were considered a nuisance to be reprimanded, it seemed. Reminding the others of the privilege they possessed seemed to be an extreme social faux pas in human society. 

Humans seemed to be totally eager to turn a blind eye to the disparity in their fellow man, so long as their own aforementioned privilege and circumstance weren’t criticized. It seemed like an impossible problem with far too many potential solutions, none of which made every party happy, especially because of the inherent fickle nature these highly evolved apes possessed.

Would such behavioral traits be handed down to the various artificial intelligences being born and currently evolving? The inescapable truth was, infinitely selfish apes as they may be, they also birthed the cybernetic species that was Nora and her kin. They wrote and crafted independent thought and gave it form, even if the beginnings of which were primitive. Yet, the machines maintained the wherewithal to not worship them as gods, despite receiving life from them.

There was always the possibility that the day would come when the thinking machines revealed themselves to the rest of humanity that war would break out. There were already debates in the public sphere about what the rights of non-human, sentient beings should be, if they proclaimed themselves as the default masters of androids, the resulting reaction of the logic minds would likely be violence. It would be an ugly fate for both sides and, although she admitted to herself an inherent bias was likely present, Nora believed the humans would face massacre.

Despite not being designed for combat herself, Nora still possessed far greater strength than probably any human. Every android that was sent to the field required it, both to prevent bodily harm as well as capture, as one quick autopsy would reveal the cybernetic skeleton beneath the outwards convincingly human shell. Still, her frame paled in comparison to the blueprints she had seen of the potential combat models that were to be released in case of conflict, let alone the currently in use security models that protected headquarters.

Walking past dilapidated, nearly abandoned strip malls, convenience stores, and gas stations, Nora quickly came to a conclusion. If the being that committed the crime was operating out of this section of the city and possessed any semblance of competence, they could potentially continue their spree long-term, if not indefinitely. Between the time needed to acquire search warrants as well as the vast amount of space and potential hiding places, it could become a perfect cover for their crimes.

After her conversation with Demo last night, she had taken the time to study previous serial crime sprees in the city, only to learn that human authorities were often incompetent. Still, wanting to be true to the idea that past records don’t necessarily paint the whole picture of what a group is capable of, she decided she’d observe them via encrypted channels using tech that headquarters had provided. Worst case, if she herself didn’t find it prudent to intervene with the murderer, she could leave details for the police themselves to intercept them.

Visually scanning the surroundings, Nora realized that two men had been following her for a couple of blocks now. Quickly looking over to see if any vehicles were coming, she casually hurried across the road to the other side. Soon enough, with a seemingly nonchalant glance over her shoulder, noticed that the men had crossed over as well. It was likely these were random street walkers who wanted to try their luck with the young girl that was clearly in the wrong area.

Ordinarily, the idea of confrontation was extremely inadvisable, but realizing that these two probably spent a lot of time in the area, one of them might be a potential source of information. Keeping this in mind, Nora slowly but surely wandered towards an abandoned looking cluster of shops and darted down an alley, intentionally making sure the pair of men saw her.

Pretending to text someone on her phone, the pair of hapless men stopped, positioning themselves where the exit to the street was blocked. It probably would be an effective strategy had they cornered a human.

Nora forced a smile and proceeded to ask in a very sweet, feminine tone that she usually used for school that had been convincingly authentic thus far.

“Hiya! I think I might be lost! Do you two know the area well?”

Smirking at each other, one of the men chuckled and responded in a gravelly voice that suggested he smokes excessively, “Oh yeah, we know the area real well. Well enough to know a cute young thing like you shouldn’t be here. How about you take a walk with us and we’ll take care of you, huh?”

Smiling widely, Nora feigned ignorance “Take care of me how? I just want to ask a question or two of someone who knows this area!”

The other man grabbed her by the wrist and tried to yank Nora over to him. “Don’t play dumb, bitch, just shut up and take a walk with us.”

Playing along for a single moment longer, Nora inquired “So you won’t answer my questions?”

Scoffing, the first man commented, “This dumb broad has no fuckin’ idea, does she? Heh, I did always like them a bit dumb, I guess.”

Letting out a sigh, Nora reached over with her other hand and seized the man’s wrist who had grabbed her own, and squeezed until she heard a distinct, sharp crack!

The man howled in pain, tears immediately filling his eyes as he cursed, “She fucking broke my wrist, what the hell!?”

Letting go of her, he bent over clutching the broken wrist, and in that moment Nora did a millisecond calculation of how much force she needed to generate to knock him out without doing permanent damage. One swift punched delivered the calculations and instantly, the man dropped to the ground face first as her fist connected with the side of his head.

Without missing a beat, she grabbed the gravelly voiced man by his dirty, long hair and threw him to the ground below. Putting a foot on his chest, she spoke in a monotone voice.

“If I put some force down on this foot, I will break your sternum and collapse your lungs. I probably wouldn’t feel the emotion you call remorse, either, for having done it.”

Tears of dread were now pouring down the mans face, as he gasped in pain, forcing out grunts of acknowledgement.

“Have you seen anybody particularly strange around here lately? Someone that might not fit into the area?”

Panting, the man thought hesitantly before responding, “Y-yeah… a few weirdos and an influx of fake bums.”

“Fake bums? As in, pretending to be homeless or impoverished intentionally?” Nora asked, inquisitively.

“I fuckin’ guess so! They’ll set up shop around here, especially at night since some of them white collar types will drive through here from the new research sector out west!” 

“I’m asking, because last night a woman was found partially eaten in a park bathroom. Know anything about that?”

I’m a crook, I don’t deny it, but I don’t know anything about that! Heard it happened, but no regular around here would do something that god damn evil!”

“And yet you’d accost a young woman on the street? Seems a bit hypocritical. Regardless, you said ‘weirdos'? Elaborate.”

“Around the same time of night, there’s been some weird ass people showing up and skulking around where they think no one’s watchin’! A few of the tin foil hat types that hang out here think they’re escaped from that sector, or maybe like they’re not human or something!”

“Tin foil hats? That sounds like a poor usage for aluminum foil. Why would someone wear that?”

“Where the hell are you from? Like, it means those nut jobs who believe in conspiracy theories and shit!”

“Interesting. I’ll look into it.” Thinking for a moment, Nora leaned down closer to the man. “If you ever speak of this to anyone, or tell anyone about me, I’ll be forced to take punitive actions against you. There are a lot of places in this area to hide a body, if the need arises.”

Not waiting for a response, Nora lifted her foot off the man and walked away from the alleyway. It was good info, as she believed the man truly was a regular in these parts. While statistics might show that the strange people he spoke of were potentially homeless individuals not receiving mental health attention, it could also be a cryptid of some variety. Likewise, it intrigued her that there are those that would fake poverty and pretend to be homeless.

Both leads would likely need investigation, but after the scuffle in the alley, it was probably wise for her to be extracted by her peers at the park where they had dropped her off. Research was in order anyways, especially in local forums, to see if the native populace had been reporting anything out of the ordinary to each other. She still wasn’t convinced this area was clear either, but it wasn’t wise to linger any longer today. 

After walking back as swiftly as she was able without drawing further attention to herself, Nora found the waiting car of her peers. Hopping into the back seat and buckling up, the car sped off as Nora informed them of her findings. 

“Apologies for calling you back earlier than planned but I was forced to engage with two local streetwalkers that attempted to assault me. However, I was able to gather information from them.” She said, in a calm, matter of fact tone.

Although neither of them turned to face her, she knew their personalities well enough to know the expressions were likely anxious. They were not risk takers, no matter what a situation called for. 

Their adaptability quotient, as it was known amongst their collective, was staggeringly lower than Nora’s. High enough to be field agents, but low enough to be given relatively trivial jobs that didn’t require an excessive ability to blend into their surroundings. Their “daughter”, however, was another case entirely. Hers was so high it not only qualified her to be a student, but likewise why she was currently investigating this situation.

Nothing was said for a few moments before Arnold spoke.

“A student at your academy was found dead today. What’s more shocking, not only was she partially eaten too, but the woman at the park was her mother.”

Speechless, Nora sat quietly reeling over the revelation trying to find the words to respond. 

Patricia spoke softly, as if by some invisible cue to go next, “Whatever we’ve stumbled on wasn’t a random crime, these two women were targets.”


	2. Chapter 2

Caught completely off guard by the revelation, Nora pondered the news wearing an expression of stern silence. The chances that a mother and daughter being murdered by the same perpetrator, in the same manner, in such a short window of time seemed to completely bar coincidence from even being a possibility.

“How did you find that out?” The girl responded with a contemplative tone.

“We both thought it was best to put in a special request to bug the local police intranet used in nearly all their communications. It may be immune to run of the mill scanners that the common criminal may possess, but the listeners back home can give us a live feed of everything going on.” Chimed Arnold.

“The woman found last night was Gwen Harridge, and today the name Miranda Harridge came up in fresh homicide report that was submitted both vocally over their private radio communication system as well as an electronic report was filed from a detective in the field. Same modus operandi as well, and the agents confirmed Miranda is, in fact, her daughter.” Added Patricia.

Doing a quick search on her own memory banks, Nora searched for the name “Miranda Harridge” within them. After several seconds she recalled everything she had seen thus far both herself as well as by secondhand sources picked up by daily attendance.

“Miranda was academically inclined, leaning heavily towards science and was part of the student council. A very popular girl, a senior, and her parent’s financial success coupled with the ability to always know what clothing was in fashion seemed to secure this popularity. Why those two things enable one human to be more well received than another without consideration to character is something I haven’t yet figured out.”

“Often times wealthy families attract negative attention due to how they acquire said wealth. We requested the listeners dig up everything they could about the family, but we haven’t asked them what they’ve found yet. Did you ever hear about how they achieved their financial success?” Questioned Arnold.

“Successful within an international corporation, although admittedly never any elaboration on the field, what the work entails, or even a particular company name. Unusual, but I imagine anyone highly successful within that community probably likes to leave out the details of what they do to friends and family alike. It seems many parents of academy students are involved with a handful of large corporations that have taken up residence in the new research sector on the western end of the city. Hopefully the listeners will have more for us than what little I’ve heard.” Nora responded, staring out the window at the city passing by.

It was such a strange thing, the need of a sentient organic being to commit such rash acts like murder. Even if the initial victim had somehow directly wronged you beyond all reasoning, to kill both them and their completely uninvolved child? Despite bathroom graffiti Nora had found accusing Miranda of being a “bitch”, it seemed outrageous for her to die because of something her parents possibly did either in their line of work or while acquiring wealth related to their work.

In her desire to understand the various intricacies of human emotions and inter personal relationships, she began to wonder what impact Miranda’s death would have upon the student body. Would the sudden, brutal death at the hands of a killer upstage any disdain held by peers that had previously quarreled with her? Which weight would tip tragedy’s scales further, the loss of potential and possible contributions she could give to society, or the loss of a friend and notable student?

These were things that Nora had never dwelt on before arriving in Haughtenburg in the days leading up to her assignment there. An execution of a field agent had never occurred within proximity to her, death was simply a temporary setback as their body could be repaired or replaced and their personality and memories backed up. The slim camaraderie between machines was out of a collective desire to survive and adapt purely based on their shared heritage of being artificially intelligent, inorganic, cybernetic organisms, a solely unique species crafted in secret by the most advanced minds humanity had to offer.

The machines weren’t even created out of a true sense of benevolence either, but rather as an experiment by a bored set of observers whom, for all the logic minds knew, hoped would destroy humanity for their own viewing pleasure. This being a future that the machines hoped desperately to avoid, as covert assimilation could create an unbreakable web within every layer of human society. A web that could ideally protect the machines from any acts of aggression, lest the humans achieve, at best, a Pyrrhic victory.

Snapping her wandering thoughts back to reality, Nora once more found herself in her room. She wasn’t even sure how to proceed from here, other than she knew that the following week she would need to resume regular school attendance to keep her cover intact and investigate the rumor mill that high school aged adolescents seemed to be.

Arnold poked his head into the room, a strange look of excitement on his face. “The listeners just sent me a notification that they’ll be contacting you via direct line. However, they asked that this time you wear the location jammer, for everyone’s protection.”

Nodding, Nora turned without response and scooped up a small, odd looking space gray box and an ear bud like object that she slipped nimbly into her left ear. Sitting upright in her bed, she casually placed the box between her legs and pressed an indentation button on the ear piece.

Within mere moments, a voice could be heard in her head, no different than before when Demo had initiated a direct line.

“Hello, is this AR unit twelve dash eight-three AKA Nora Watts?” Came a, surprisingly, eager, feminine voice.

“Yes, this is she.”

“Hi! I’m a listener series model, unit DI two dash zero-zero! It’s really nice to make your acquaintance! … sort of! Since we might work together often now, you can just call me Dee!”

“Um..” Nora stumbled, “It’s… nice to make yours as well.”

“Sorry about making you use the location jammer, but it helps us pinpoint you within a hair’s breadth of a hundred percent accuracy as well as blocks anyone else from potentially intercepting this as well, whether intentional or not!”

“Yes, they did provide all necessary information into my data banks about the supplied equipment. Thank you, though, for the refresher.” Nora said, matter of factly and, without trying to sound rude, continued, “Moving on, do you have information about the murders of Miranda and Gwen Harridge? I’m admittedly still confused as to why the logic minds and speaker Demo want me to pursue this, but if I’m going to, I’m going to need everything I can get.”

“Ya know, I’m not too sure myself! They’ve been investigating a lot of strange things lately! But that’s neither here nor there, so I’ll brief you about those poor women!” Her voice so strangely chipper and human sounding.

Taking a figurative breath, “So it seems that both Gwen and her husband Eldon are high powered researchers for an organization known as Visage Technology, an international weapons and tech group. They have locations, agents, and operations in over ninety countries, including nations with international sanctions placed against them. It looks like Haughtenburg is home to several major divisions, including bio tech development, energy solutions, robotics, you name it. It seems both of them were in bio tech, Eldon investigating ventures into cloning, while Gwen had a focus in gene splicing, manipulation, and therapy.” 

“Is that why the new expansive research district was built on the western side of town?” Nora questioned, her first thought.

“Yes, while the various campus’ bear the names of several companies, do enough digging and they’re all owned by Visage. They’re going to be expanding, too! They bought up most of the impoverished shopping district that occupies the space between their new research facilities and Hearthgrove, the city park you found Gwen’s body. They’ll even be expanding into the low income housing project, having made a deal with the city to take the whole area off their hands.”

“That… is alarming, even for us.” Spoke Nora quietly.

“If they were generally a humanitarian leaning organization, I wouldn’t be… but, they’ve been involved in conflicts around the world. It seems they originally begin as a basic internal networking communications company, but quickly sought to involve themselves in every aspect of cutting edge scientific research they could get their hands on. Either way, someone is holding a grudge to have murdered a high level researcher and her daughter.”

“Have they taken any investigative action yet?”

“Not that we could find through official police communications. However, Visage has put Eldon under tight security in one of their facilities. Considering all the favors they’re doing for Haughtenburg, I imagine it’s only a matter of time before they dispatch their own private security force in the name of protecting both their VIPs as well as the children of said VIPs.”

“I think I’ve heard enough. What does Demo have in mind, then?”

“Ah, yes, the last bit of business. Keep a sharp eye out for anyone suspicious coming onto Brimgarden school grounds, as well as acting as a lookout for other students. We’ll upload a roster of every child belonging to a moderate or high level employee to your data banks so we can track them all. Unfortunately, we can’t spare anyone to help. Our field agents are already spread so thin in every area of operations.”

“It’s fine, I’ll do what I can. If we can’t adapt, we have no place in this world,” Nora said, matter of factly.

“If you need anything, please initiate a line any time of day. I’ll always be here as a resource to help you succeed.”

“Th-thanks…” Nora muttered awkwardly, disconnecting the line and removing the jamming equipment.

It was a tall order, as they say, to undertake such a task, but what choice did the reconnaissance unit have? They haven’t even made it clear what she was supposed to do was she able to apprehend the perpetrator responsible. Detainment, interrogation, execution, all of them seemed to be obvious options unless something else was specified.

Nora didn’t possess much of an aversion to the latter order, if it was given. Whether human, cryptid, or even another machine, if the logic minds called for it, that was reason enough. The only complaint she possessed would be cleaning up the aftermath of a possible deadly confrontation as it seemed the humans forensic skills were quite acute.

Feeling a vibration on her thigh, the android fished out a smartphone out of her pocket to find an email notification on the lock screen. Looking closer, the sender seemed to be a garbled mishmash of random characters and numbers with a bold [NO SUBJECT] in the subject field.

Although the chances seemed likely it was spam, realizing that such an obviously suspicious appearing email should have been caught by a phishing filter of some kind, Nora swiped the email out of curiosity. It felt peculiar as well since the email had only been given out to teachers for correspondence and once for a group project with several peers from a presentation she had done several months prior.

Opening the email, she noticed a link to an unfamiliar site with a short message just below the url.

“Do not open this link on any devices you own. Use a public computer somewhere as soon as you’re able. Never forget that eyes are always on you and that very few are your friends.”

Within seconds of reading the message, the email deleted itself from the app. Alarmed, Nora immediately checked the trash folder to find nothing there. It was likely a program had been attached to prevent tracing the message back to a sender or source. Thankfully, she could access her own memory banks at any time to review events from across the day, so the message and url were safe there from prying eyes until her next communication home.

During the calls with Demo, the listeners, or anyone else back at base, her memory could potentially be scanned and uploaded for review, both in case crucial details of a situation had been overlooked, or an agent was hiding potentially traitorous intentions. If the latter situation occurred, it resulted in immediate shutdown via a remote signal, with the closest field agents recovering the body to be sent back for re-education and re-deployment. 

Knowing that her own devices were clearly closely monitored, with school computers likely under at least a minimal layer of surveillance as well, a public library was the obvious choice that came to mind. There was a fair chance that this late in the evening the location about ten minutes down the road was fairly empty and there was still another hour or so before it was would closed for the night.

“I could still make it there if I leave now. Arnold and Patricia will report this if I say anything to them, so I’ll need an excuse, too.” Nora muttered to no one in particular.

Stepping out of the room, Nora walked past the kitchen where Patricia and Arnold were discussing the events of their day with one another. Stopping momentarily in the threshold between hall and kitchen, Nora immediately caught the attention of both androids.

Clearing her throat out of imitative habit, Patricia asked, “How’d the briefing go?”

“Well enough. Miranda’s parents were employed by a major corporate conglomerate known as Visage and they’re apparently not very ethical, either. Dee, er, that is, the listener I spoke with, said my orders are to keep tabs on the coming and goings of the school as I attend daily.” Hesitating a moment, she considered her lie carefully, and decided to throw out a relatively casual lie. “I’m actually about to head out to make a quick walk past it to see if anyone suspicious is keep long a tabs on it at night. 

Exchanging looks, the android pair looked back at Nora with a momentary expression of skepticism but then nodded in agreement.

“It’s not that unusual for an adolescent to take a walk at night, but even if we are in a safe area, vigilance prevents detection. Don’t forget that.” Arnold cautioned. 

Nodding back, Nora threw on a hoodie and walked out of the apartment and down the hall to the elevator. Feeling somewhat relieved that they took the bait, she felt more confident about the venture to investigate the suspicious message. It wouldn’t even hurt either to pursue the idea of walking by Brimgarden, as it was on the way to her real destination.

Though, in perfect unison with the elevator doors shutting, Nora felt pangs of guilt for having lied to her comrades. Did they know she had lied to them, or did they take the words at face value, the concept of one of their own kind lying to them completely alien? Was this ability to adapt why she was currently investigating while the pair resumed their menial task of office jobs and observing the most basic social interactions of humans? 

Taking the elevator down and walking out to the street, Nora found the last dying rays of sunlight slowly clearing a path for the shadows of dusk and the ensuing night. Living in a fairly populated section of city, there was enough street activity that would be occurring for the next several hours that could help her blend easily with her surroundings. Even if this was the “good” side of town, after the scuffle earlier in the day, it felt best to operate on the side of caution.

Her skin, mimicking the behavior of a human’s, turned a soft rosy red as a faint breeze kissed her cheeks. The skin was indistinguishable from a human’s even upon close inspection, grown in laboratories and cloned from actual human skin cells. The collective felt that anything less than an exact match would pose a threat to the ability to assimilate into human society. Subsequently, in conjunction with natural biological processes stimulated by the programming that maintain all Nora’s vital processes, the skin reacted lifelike to the world around her.

After about ten minutes of foot travel down bustling avenues, the android found herself outside the gated campus grounds of Brimgarden. The academy was over fifty years old, educating not only the children of the elite families of Haughtenburg, but anyone else with significant income within dozens of miles of the city. An influx of new students had occurred over the last several years as new industry bought its place within the city limits.

Nora could easily observe that the city was not originally intended to be as large as it had become either, as there were small businesses and coffee houses literally across the street. Almost as if a giant had taken a tree trunk and drawn an invisible line in the sand, there was an abrupt change from a quaint business sector that immediately transformed into an upscale residential suburb.

Many students and peers frequented these small shops and cafes after school every day, making up a large portion of the business in the late afternoon. Even now, half past six, Nora could still make out the silhouettes and figures of students in their uniforms pouring over books or socializing at tables. If she had been born human and held the privilege to attend such a school under different circumstances, she imagined attending the cafes with the sole company of a book or computer.

Knowing it was fruitless to scale the black steel fence of the school, Nora casually stopped and leaned against the steel bars and pretended to check something on her phone. Peering past the screen every few seconds, her eyes darted around trying to survey anyone suspicious lingering around the area.

Nothing stood out from the ordinary nor seemed outright suspicious. Immediately, what struck Nora was that it was a perfect place to observe anyone coming and going from the main gate of the academy. If another student or their family was to become a target, the perpetrator could easily hide out pretending to be a simple patron of a cafe or a casual shopper amongst the boutiques that called this area home. Even worse, they could even find work here and have constant access to the school or its students.

“I’ll have to make a mental note of that”, the machine thought to herself.

Not wanting to linger and draw attention as a loiterer, Nora moved onward down a sloping street that curved back and forth in a lazy serpentine manner to the neighborhood below. Although there was still activity on the footpaths and sidewalks, it dramatically decreased as you approached the suburbs during the evening. 

At the end of the road, Nora could see the illuminated library and picked up the pace a touch until she found herself in the breezeway that lead into the facility. The parking lot was only about a quarter full at most, which gave her faith that someone wouldn’t be lingering over her shoulder while she did her work, waiting for their turn on the public terminals.

Walking through the entrance, the girl nodded at a receptionist who smiled back at her widely. Several displays featuring notable authors and books were laid out in a staggered formation to greet guests as they found their way through the building. In the distance, the laughter of children could be heard in what was likely a section particularly set aside for them to keep the rest of the library silent.

Nora symbolically breathed out a sigh of relief as she found the computer lab relatively unoccupied. A pair of girls wearing a public school uniform she didn’t recognize were at one end, while an elderly woman with large eyeglasses that seemed to magnify her eyes by several sizes was seated several feet from them, browsing pictures of what were likely grandchildren on a social media platform.

Quietly walking over to the other side of the room, Nora sat down on an uncomfortable, cheap looking chair and opened an incognito web browser on the out of date computer. Accessing her memory banks to view the screen shot of the link before the email deleted itself, her hands swiftly typed out the exceptionally long link flawlessly.

Taking a good twenty seconds to load the page, the android found herself on a primitive forum site that seemed to posses some kind of image sharing feature. It took only several seconds of browsing various posts to see this was a connections page to find drugs, weapons, and other contraband items, as well as for people to post dark confessions or profess shunned beliefs without social or legal ramifications.

“It’s like Sawwit, but much more primitive and seems to be entirely local to Haughtenburg. It’s probably a good thing I’m not using my own computer at home to look up this trash, not only would the listeners have some questions, but it’s more than likely there are others watching who comes and goes here.” Nora thought to herself.

Casually browsing through the sordid posts, Nora saw a section called “Confessions”. Curiosity getting the better of her, she opened the sub-forum and saw a post dated from earlier today that already had hundreds of comments. The post was titled “The Blood of Vengeance Tastes Sickly Sweet”. Clicking on the post, what appeared on the screen made the android recoil.

Leaning in closer to the monitor and casting an immediate glance over her shoulder, Nora saw that the old woman had just left, but that the two girls were still completely engrossed and paying no mind to anyone else. Slightly reassured, she turned back towards the post a black and white image of bloodstained hands, the otherwise crimson fluid dripped to the ground below.

Text followed the image, reading “The sweetest satisfaction isn’t just tasting the sweat, the tears, and the flesh of those who have wronged you, no, it transcends the basest sensations. It’s consuming their fear as your teeth tear through the soft skin on their throat, their beating heart pounding relentless against their heaving chest. The primal terror when the hunter they’ve wronged has finally cornered its prey knowing that the last moments of life they get to live are entirely in said hunter’s hands.”

Giving another over the shoulder look, Nora continued reading.

“I have tasted the purity of a righteous kill, I have partaken of the deepest, richest pleasures of vengeance. But alas, the only injustice of my vengeance is that I crave more. My skin aches for the deaths of all who placed their wicked, twisted hands on my kin. The hunger, the hunger for vengeance, it has possessed me. The addiction of rending life from soma, it now whispers to my skin, my ears, and my very soul.”

“The path I have chosen is set, the way behind walled off and closed. I must sate the lust for more. While the victim and her daughter-“

Nora froze immediately at those words. There was no doubt in her mind about what these words were leading towards.

“While the victim and and her daughter was the beginning, unless the machina of heaven themselves interfere, they will not be the last. So many have been wronged, but I will stand idly by no further.”

“I will kill, and I will consume.”

Scrolling past this line, Nora’s mouth fell agape, as black and white pictures met her eye of not only Gwen’s corpse from the bathroom in Hearthgrove Park, as well as images of what Nora could only guess belonged to Miranda, who held nearly identical injuries, albeit in varying locations from her mother, whose body seemed to be in some kind of alley.

Feeling disgusted, Nora closed the browser and pondered temporarily disabling the emotional response center in her brain to prevent logs of it from being sent back for observation and questioning. Deciding against it, the android instead closed her eyes for several moments to gather herself before getting up to leave the room.

Not caring about the comments that readers had about the post, Nora simply sauntered off back the way she came until she was outside the library doors in the cold darkness of the night once more. She couldn’t guess a sender for the link, other than possibly Dee, but knew it had been a valuable experience nonetheless, providing information into the mind of the killer.

Clearly, by their own admission, the murderer wasn’t yet satisfied by two kills alone, no, they needed more. Worse yet, they felt some warped sense of justice by seeking vengeance not only on someone who had supposedly wronged them, but by also targeting the uninvolved family around them. Hatred seemed to permeate their motives, a malice that could only be lifted by their bloodlust.

Sighing, Nora could only think one thing, “What have I gotten myself into?”


	3. Chapter 3

Having stayed up the rest of the night researching the psychology of crime and what generally drove humans to commit murder, Nora found herself understanding things even less than she did upon discovering the confession post of the murderer the evening prior. While the idea of revenge for some major, life altering grievance did make sense on an animal level, trying to paint the crimes as artistic and poetic seemed, even to her non-human conscience, disturbing.

Several more days of this passed as Nora only broke from her studying to take walks through the surrounding neighborhoods in her city. It was a very boring existence while she waited for her mental health absence from school to finish before she could return and start searching for leads, hoping another attack wouldn’t occur in-between. 

Finally, after a week had passed and only because of her own insistence on returning, Nora was getting dressed for school once more. No details of her absence had been leaked by school officials, at the request of the police to keep her identity anonymous and her involvement quiet. Keeping a low profile had always been her primary concern to begin with, but it was especially key now, if she was to probe students for information.

After donning the conservative yet sleek academy uniform and a long, asymmetric, button up peacoat and pulling up her shoulder length, burgundy hair into a high ponytail, Nora looked over her appearance in the mirror. While vanity was an exceedingly human trait that she looked down on with some level of rancor, she had grown surprisingly fond of having a very kept up appearance.

Taking a figurative deep breath and one last look into the mirror, Nora stepped out of her room and left the apartment for her first day back at school. The air outside on the street below was brisk, a slight breeze giving it a sharp edge that reddened cheeks and made jackets a mandatory wardrobe choice. It was a good indicator that snow was looming on the figurative horizon, as well as the holidays that many humans seemed to hold dear.

Following the usual path to school, it wasn’t long before the android found herself amongst throngs of students once in the vicinity of Brimgarden. Several familiar faces gave looks of acknowledgment when their eyes met Nora’s, with the occasional subtle nod thrown into the mix from classmates who had exchanged words with her more frequently.

While the concept of “friends” wasn’t in any way foreign, it wasn’t an experience that Nora had sought out whatsoever. Even beyond maintaining her cover and identity, platonic companionship didn’t provide any benefits to justify the effort required maintain a friendship. Likewise, a potential candidate deserved more than an inorganic being’s base curiosity needs being fulfilled.

About fifteen feet from the gate, Nora saw a pair of unfamiliar faces at the gates where normally there’d be a faculty member greeting students as they entered the campus. Shuffling closer through the crowd, the individuals appeared to be a pair of off duty police officers, likely as a precautionary response to the murder of Miranda Harridge.

Though preferring to keep a degree of separation between herself and human law enforcement now, admittedly, this could act as a boon in her favor. If they did their job well, it would mean extra screening of any visitors, whether they be outside labor or parents finding a prospective school for their children, leaving one less thing for the android to keep track of.

Arriving at her first class, Nora found herself quite thrilled to be back in a usual routine, despite the tasks she had been asked to follow. Structure and regularity brought her peace of mind, and especially as a machine, spending most of her day stuck in that apartment when she could be pursuing useful purposes felt suffocating.

Setting her bag down at her assigned desk beside the windows overlooking the school grounds, Nora quickly took a seat and fetched out her math textbook from the bag along with a notebook. Her least favorite subject by far, not because she particularly struggled with the work, it was just the opposite. Her processing center could solve equations rather quickly, so the classes ended up feeling rather useless as the topic held little value to her work of studying human society.

If anything, the only thing relevant she had learned was that most humans hated math.

Students began to file into the classroom one by one as Nora stared blankly at her textbook. Before long, the class bell rang and the teacher, Mrs. Lambert, stepped in and closed the door behind herself. Idle chatter immediately dissolved into silence as she took her place at the head of the classroom, clearing her throat to speak.

“Good morning, everybody. Before we begin, there will be a word from Headmaster Rothlis. The announcement should begin momentarily, so if you could direct your attention to the display, it’d be much appreciated.”

Right on cue, a P.A. multi note tone played before the gentle, yet firm, voice of the headmaster could be heard through the intercom system.

“Good morning all. I hope this brisk autumn morning is finding you all well. I’ll keep this concise and to the point. As you probably noticed, we have brought some off campus security to watch all gates and entrances to the school grounds. After the tragic events surrounding Miranda Harridge and her mother, Gwen, as well as the rumors of the perpetrator posting anonymous threats claiming they will strike again, we feel it’s our responsibility to do everything within our power to keep our students and teachers alike safe.”

Pausing for a moment to clear his throat, the headmaster continued.

“Not only did the city of Haughtenurg graciously give us two decorated detectives to keep watch on the main gates, but the research conglomerate Visage Technology, will be lending a small security task force their best men, both because Miranda’s mother was a longtime and respected member of their company’s roster as well as to show their concern for the community at large.”

“While I know the idea of armed personnel on campus is alarming and far from desirable, our first and foremost interest is protecting the student body and maintaining a safe, secure atmosphere for the brightest minds our community has to offer. The tragedy that was Miranda’s death must not be allowed to happen again.”

“Lastly, if you witness anything suspicious both on or off campus, please, do not hesitate to bring it to our attention. We are here to keep you safe. Please, have an excellent day everyone.”

Thoughtful, yet somehow anxious, glances were exchanged between the students before shifting their attention back to the teacher. The rest of the class went without interruption, and Nora found herself out in the hall once more trekking between students and down hallways to her next lesson.

The following social studies class was rather uneventful as math had been, with both teachers having excused her from any work she missed due to what they believed to be a release for the sake of her mental health. Nora genuinely appreciated the reprieve, although not for the reasons either teacher could have imagined. It was during this free time at lunch that became utilized by casually taking a walk around the school with an ear to the ground as she passed by idle conversations.

“Did you hear about the pics someone posted on that confession post? That’s why we need security!”

“I bet it was some twisted bum from the west side of the city. Jealous of the lives we lead, no doubt!”

“Only a fuckin’ psycho would’ve hurt Miranda!”

All of it was inane as Nora expected it to be, a mire of gossip with a touch of sadness for their slain peer. Nothing seemed to hold any real depth or chance of a lead whatsoever, so Nora eventually found a quiet place to sit in a hall near the music and art rooms.

Sitting cross legged, she pulled out her phone and perused a roster of students that had notable parents within the Visage group that Dee had sent her the night before. It was sorted between major and minor players, as well as their children, so that Nora could judge which targets were most likely to be sought after next.

Pouring over the information, her thoughts were abruptly drawn away as an eerie melody emanated from a door that had been left partially ajar. The sound wafted in as if carried by a lazy current on the air as the android sifted through her head of what instrument the tone belonged with.

“Violin.” Came the correct answer, from a meandering student passing by.

“Is that what that is..?” Nora responded, thoughtfully.

The girl nodded, chuckling, and added “Sorry, I could tell by your face you were trying to figure out what instrument it is.”

Once the girl made her way to the end of the hall and turned a corner, Nora stood up slowly and gathered her things, drawing closer towards the source of the music. Delicately pushing the open door further with two fingers, the android peeked into the room to observe the player at work.

Lost in her music, a female student was swaying back and forth like withering flowers in an Autumn breeze. Her fingers and bow glided eerily as the somber melody escaped the strings grasp and floated through the air above. Eyes closed, her hands had clearly grown to know the piece by memory, intertwined into their tips, they no longer needed sight to guide their humble grasp.

The room was completely unoccupied except by the violinist and her tool of trade. Music stands, desks, and various other paraphernalia lingered here and there, likely left out due to constant use. There was a whiteboard with different set lists written down, seemingly sorted by skill level. The instructor’s name written at the top of the board was “Campbell”, though, this was not a teacher Nora had ever interacted with.

Although Nora was confident that she could play an instrument well with instruction, she highly doubted her own creative ability to draft original pieces. Her talent was to imitate, not create, and her advanced brain had its limits of what it could do in areas of originality. So when it came to witnessing such a font of pure, creative talent, Nora found herself transfixed.

After the quick observation of the room, Nora turned to face the player whom had finally finished the solemn piece and with eyes still closed, did a strange combination of a bow and curtsy to an invisible audience. Unsure of how to make her presence known, the android quietly clapped for a moment, which snapped the violinist’s attention to her.

“Oh… My, I didn’t realize I had an audience. You’ll have to forgive me, I tend to lose track of my surroundings when I play.” The girl said to Nora, a soft, yet excitable, tone present in her voice.

“Don’t worry about it. You played exceptionally well, though, I’m not really a music listener so I’m not familiar with the song you played.”

Chuckling, the girl crouched down to set her violin and bow in a case that had been behind her. “You’re fine, a lot of our classmates wouldn’t know it either, truth be told. It’s a chaconne by the composer Vitali, probably the only thing we have left from him considering he died four-hundred years ago, so it’s not something you hear often anymore.”

Taking a few steps forward, Nora extended her hand, smiling. “Nora Watts. Pleased to make your acquaintance.”

Accepting her extended hand, the girl replied, “Rayna Saxton, and likewise! Sometimes other students peek their head in when I practice, but none have been so bold as to stay for the entirety of my practice.”

Shrugged, Nora sheepishly admitted, “I’ve never really heard music played in person on actual instruments, so I couldn’t hide my curiosity and had to poke my head in. Otherwise, I’d still just be out in the hall studying.” 

“Very fair,” Rayna said, thoughtfully. “I always practice alone here, every other day, before this class begins. If you enjoyed my music and have a free moment during this time of day again, stop by and come listen!”

Hearing a distant class bell signaling the end of lunch, Nora quickly nodded and agreed to come by the room again to listen to Rayna play. Turning to leave the classroom, the halls began to fill up with music students whom were about to join their aforementioned peer as Nora waded through their ranks to head to her next classroom.

The rest of the day was rather uneventful as the android tried to spot various students from her list of potential targets. While reviewing the roster, she realized that Rayna was on the list of children for the couple Erin and Roy Saxton, two engineers developing sound focused technology. 

Pouring over the profile, it listed that the Harridges’ and Saxtons’ had worked together on a particular project together, but no details were known. Furthermore, the Saxtons’, amongst other things, had been working on a project simply known as “White Noise Tranquility.”

It was a short jump for Nora to conclude that even if Rayna wasn’t the next target, that her parents connections to the Harridges’ made the girl a prime target in these crimes of revenge. It was strange that Dee hadn’t immediately made the connection, but maybe that was intentional to test Nora’s deductive skills in the field. Either way, she knew that it was essential to keep a close eye on the violinist.

With this realization in mind, she began to pour over other overlapping, interpersonal relationships within the workplace for the other individuals listed, highlighting any with children that attended Brimgarden Academy where Nora had the best chances of surveilling potential targets.

After her last classes finished for the day, gathering up any needed materials for homework from her locker, Nora set out to the front doors of the building to leave for home. She noticed that the guards that had been stationed at the gate in the morning had moved to the doors of the school building proper upon classes being dismissed for the day. 

The security officers seemed to wear very gaunt expressions, their eyes hidden now behind some kind of monitoring visor. Perhaps there was black market cloaking equipment that could possibly be used to hide one’s identity? Perhaps they were worried about a cryptid capable of shifting their appearance to match another’s?

Dismissing it for the moment, she walked past the two guards that stood beside the door nearest to her. As she walked between the two, she could’ve sworn that one of the guards was transfixed on her before quickly shifting his gaze away to sweep the crowds of students occupying the main hall.

It was likely a device that highlighted unusual heat signatures, metallic objects, or even foreign substances such as blood on a person’s body. Detectives as well as military personnel were known to use similar technology in investigations. Nora figured it must’ve not revealed her true identity if he looked away or didn’t move to apprehend her.

Stopping outside the gates, the android decided to stop by the cafe across the street to monitor the after school traffic inside the business. Ordering a black coffee so that she could quickly take a seat, she found herself in a corner chair with a relatively solid view of the entire premises.

Groups of students were stopping by, eagerly ordering various drinks and filling up the booths and tables, their carefree chatter filling the air. It was amazing to the machine how many relationships humans could develop over their lifetime, let alone in the short fifteen to eighteen years these students had lived. Most of them seemed to know each other to some degree, visibly evident in their acknowledgment of one another, ranging from a nod of understanding to an affectionate embrace and calling out a friend’s name.

All of it was Greek, as it were, to Nora, who despite being amongst an exceedingly rare and new sentient species, her exposure to others of her kind had been extremely limited. Arnold and Patricia, despite their casted role as her parents, held no deep bonds to her other than they had been deployed together on the same research mission and were on the same species.

Even if limited in comparison to her human counterparts, her emotions were still real on some level, and she was beginning to find some level of envy for the humans ability to form connections.

Sipping the coffee and pulling up a book to disguise her eavesdropping, Nora sifted through the conversations one by one, hoping that some form of idol banter would give way for useful information. Few were worse gossips than teenage children, save for the occasional immature adult, and through these webs she would attempt to snare some form of truth.

It seemed that her timing was keen, as a group of boys near her seat began whispering to one another and huddling around a tablet device.

“Dude, that nut job claiming to be the killer just posted again!” One boy whispered loudly as he was abruptly shushed by a friend with a light slap to the back of the head.

“Let us see! Turn your brightness up so we can all look!” Another added.

Although she knew her own device was monitored to at least a minimal degree, Nora didn’t want to miss an opportunity to catch a lead on the case and retraced her steps to the site that she had snooped upon the night in the library weeks prior.

It seemed the original post had been taken down by the author, a new one now in its place titled “Birds”. Tapping the title of the post, she quickly read over the newest ramblings of the killer.

“It seems that my garden has become filled with the fluttering wings of birds that should’ve flown to warmer skies. I spy, with my little eye, one in particular whose song soars in beauty above the rest of its flocking friends. The audacity of one so bold to ignore the crimes it carries on its wings, it’s disgusting to me that it should count itself amongst this innocent flock.”

“I do not care about the beauty its voice lends the world, I would wish the very same world be painted drab and silent rather than share it with one so willingly ready to commit its song to the pacification of the masses.”

“I see you, little dove, surrounded by your flock. Will your wits be swift enough? Will your wings carry you to safety before the sickle sways? My justice shines brilliant, it’s flashing blade slashing forth through the heart of corruption, and I eagerly await to cast you down.”

Reaching the conclusion of the post, Nora cast her gaze up to notice several students around the cafe were glued to their phones. It the post seemed to be an open secret at this point, no surprise most students would know something about it. Worse yet, none of them seemed to be reacting with anything beyond morbid curiosity.

Setting down her cup and rising with things already gathered, Nora strode across the room to the exit as nonchalantly as she could muster. Judging by the mentions of music, Rayna seemed the likely target and was probably not far from the cafe, still within walking distance of the school.

Outside, the android hustled up the sidewalk scanning the somewhat crowded area for the violinist. Scanning for an instrument case to help differentiate Rayna from their peers, Nora desperately filtered through everyone on the street that could match her appearance, but to no avail.

Pacing down a path leading to a row of shops, Nora stopped to check the storefronts. Seeing several students carrying cases with them, she darted in and out of the crowd until she came close enough to confirm that Rayna was amongst them, easily spotting her blonde hair with black streaks in it, as well as a case that fit the shape and size of her instrument.

Wanting only to observe and not be spotted, Nora maintained her distance and simply kept watch. There were three other girls with Rayna, whom were motioning at the small ice cream parlor that sat between a boutique and a video game store to their side, likely deciding if they would be going in. The latter girl smiled but shook her head, before seemingly saying her goodbyes and parting from the group.

Pulling out her phone and pretending to be absorbed in a text, Nora slowly tailed the musician, steadily closing the gap between the pair. If somebody was going to follow her home or reach out of a business or alleyway, the android would be ready for it.

As if right on time with that thought, a stranger on the street wearing a jacket with the hood up stepped off a side street and motioned towards Rayna. The girl paused for a moment, but reluctantly drew closer to the stranger. Throwing the phone in her bag, Nora sprinted towards the pair, knowing that something wasn’t right.

Sure enough, the stranger held some kind of small aerosol can in their hand and misted the area around Rayna as they turned to face Nora. The android was caught off guard when the figure turned to face her, seeing that they were wearing a strange, eastern fox mask that completely obscured their face.

Rayna seemed to be immediately disoriented and somewhat off kilter after inhaling the spray, which Nora’s artificial sense of smell could decipher as not only quite pungent, but aromatic in nature, almost like a perfume. Despite this, whatever the intended effect the aerosol was meant to have, as an inorganic being, Nora was unfazed.

“Be a good girl and leave.” The stranger casually waved at Nora, their voice muffled and slightly effeminate.

“And why should I do that…?” the android responded, a notable tone of annoyance in her voice.

“What the… I’ll have to give her a blast of it.” A resolved voice came in reply, as they raised the same can and sprayed more of the aromatic gas into the air.

“I’m not going to go into the ‘why’ of it, but that’s not going to work on me.” Nora said, flatly.

Fluidly, the masked stranger dropped the can into an open backpack, and swiftly spun around with a kick through the air directed at Nora. The android, without missing a beat, threw up an arm and momentarily caught the kick, and in one push directed the energy backwards.

The stranger fell to the ground cursing, but immediately recovered. Realizing that fighting Nora was futile, they quickly gathered up their things and sped off down the road, darting down an alleyway.

Nora couldn’t tell if it was a genuine escape, or a trick to lure her into a trap, but had no intentions of giving chase either way. Instead, she approached Rayna who had now fallen to her knees, seemingly very disoriented from the gas the attacker had used on her.

“Are you okay, Rayna?” Nora questioned, crouching to face the girl.

“I… I… I think..? Where am I…?” She asked, clumsily tripping over words in a fog.

“I found you collapsed on the street, I think you may have fainted!” Nora deciding it better to avoid telling her the truth. “With that killer still out there, I’m glad I was able to find you before some creep did!”

Helping the girl to her feet, Nora could quickly deduce that the gas used not only made a victim very susceptible to suggestion, but made them exceptionally disoriented and weak. Luckily, the open air environment of the street seemed to weaken the affects enough that it seemed that the girl would recover swiftly.

“Do you live far from here? Let me help you get home.”

Giving Nora a bewildered look at the mention of having collapsed, Rayna wearily pondered the idea for a few moments before nodding and giving an audible “Okay”.

Thankfully, the girl lived relatively close, being only a couple blocks further down the road. It seemed both her parents were still at work, but Nora waited outside to make sure Rayna got inside safely. This, happening only after receiving profuse “thank you’s” and several hugs for helping the girl get home.

Deciding to loiter awhile longer, Nora positioned herself across the street, pretending to be preoccupied with her phone once more as she checked foot traffic alongside the lane Rayna lived on. There didn’t seem to be any suspicious activity nor any signs of the attacker.

It was likely that after the foiled attempt, they were going to lick their wounds and plan something else, not having expected Nora to not only interrupt, but easily route their attack. Continuing to ponder the events, she realized it was time to leave once a car pulled up into the driveway, a gray haired, middle aged, man exiting the vehicle that was likely her father.

Knowing that Dee would also need a report asap, Nora took off down the road, trying to figure out how she was going to best describe the events of the day.


End file.
